APRIL— SEPT. 1859.] 



The Cairns of Tinnevelly, 



21 



traditionary standard by which Natives are accustomed to test the 

 correctness or otherwise of their seer measure. Their standard 

 has always been that a seer measure when heaped should contain a 

 seer weight of rice or non-danium ; the new standard might be 

 that a seer measure when struck should contain this. This might 

 be accomplished, the seer weight of 80 tolas being retained by 

 adopting Mr. Bayley's plan of a quart seer, which when struck con= 

 tains 80 tolas of non-danium. 



The quart seer with the tola of 175 grs. will not contain exactly 

 97 tolas of water, at a temperature of Fahrenheit, as is the case 

 Mr. Bayley says (though we cannot make it out so*) with the tola 

 of 180 grs. We do not see however that this matters much. For 

 all ordinary test the knowledge that a quart seer contains, when 

 struck, a seer weight of non danium should be sufficient. If nicer 

 accuracy is required, its exact measure can be determined by its 

 capacity to hold distilled water, in which case a decimal more or 

 less in the operation is of little importance. 



IV. The Cairns of Tinnevelly. By the Rev, J. T. Kearns 8 

 Missionary, S. P. G., Madras. 



During the hot season of the present year 1859, I was obliged 

 to visit Courtallum, a place in the Taluq of Tencasey in the Zii- 

 lah of Tinnevelly ; while there, the kindness of the Acting Collec- 

 tor, V. H. Levinge, Esq., enabled me to inspect some excavations 

 which were being carried, on in the lawn, in front of his residence. 

 In the course of the excavations the workmen met with several large 

 earthen urns, closely imbedded in stones, but unfortunately they 

 destroyed most of them, either through carelessness or from not 

 knowing their value. On personally inspecting the place I dis- 

 covered that they had penetrated several Cairns, in each of which 



* Vide Table in appendix to Mr.Bayley's paper, at 84° Fall. ; a gallon 

 of distilled water weighs 70,000 -151 8 j=S9848-150 

 a quart weighs 17462 038. 



17i62'0a8-r-X8p=97-01L 



